Nursery abuse concerns ignored for months before worker’s arrest

Serious concerns about Nathan Bennett were left to drift for months before a staff member finally saw CCTV showing him touching a child inappropriately. By then, the nursery worker had already spent months at Partou King Street Nursery in Bristol, where parents and staff say warning signs were building long before police were called.

Bennett, 30, worked at the nursery at 7-8 King Street from July 2024 until February 2025. The decisive safeguarding alert came in February 2025, when a member of staff reviewed footage and reported Bennett to police and the local authority the same day. Avon and Somerset Police arrested him immediately. The nursery later closed on 31 December 2025.

Court records show the scale of the abuse that followed. Bennett was convicted at Bristol Crown Court on 9 February 2026 of two counts of raping a child, four counts of sexual assault of a child and two counts of assault of a child by penetration. He had already pleaded guilty to 13 other sexual offences against young children. The victims were aged between two and three, and the offences took place in 2024 and 2025. He was sentenced on 16 March 2026 to 24 years in prison, with an extended licence period of six years.

The central question is why earlier concerns did not lead to faster protection for the children in his care. Sky News reported that complaints about Bennett’s behaviour had already been raised in February 2025, including that he sat children on his lap for long periods, wore trousers with holes in the crotch area and appeared territorial over certain toddlers and their parents. One practitioner described a “jealous attachment” to five children and said he would “take control” of them.

ITV News reported that a mother, using the name Sarah to protect her child’s identity, first complained because Bennett was overly affectionate and touchy-feely with her child. She was told the nursery was investigating him, then heard nothing more until his arrest. Leigh Day, which represents affected families, says several parents raised concerns before Bennett was arrested and believes those warnings were not properly followed up or escalated.

Ofsted’s public record shows a “Concern: actions taken” entry for the nursery published on 7 March 2025, shortly after Bennett’s arrest. The regulatory trail, the parents’ complaints and the delayed response now point to the same failure: a safeguarding system that should have moved sooner, and did not.